Get to Know the Family Behind Cookies & Clogs

Welcome to Our Family Lifestyle Blog!

Launched May 7, 2010, Cookies & Clogs has become a valuable resource for parents, both far and near. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, our family loves sharing about our favorite places to go, things to do, and products to try. With a hearty “hello” we welcome you to our site and hope you’ll stick around so we can get to know you!

The Story Behind the Name

You may be wondering where the name “Cookies & Clogs” came from. That’s a simple story. TerriAnn is Chinese and Frans is Dutch. So, to encompass their family’s uniqueness, they decided to use ‘Cookies & Clogs’ as a brand name. Let’s just say that it flowed much better than ‘Chopsticks & Tulips’.

How Cookies & Clogs was Born

Back in 2010, TerriAnn was a stay-at-home mom who was homeschooling her young daughter. Though she knew her job at home was important, she felt unfulfilled by not being able to contribute to the family financially. So, in an attempt of personal validation, TerriAnn told Frans, “I noticed that there are these things called blogs and that some people have advertisements on them. Maybe, if I start one, I can make just $5 per month to help out the family.”

Little did she know that this “thing called a blog” would turn into a full small business that mostly supports the household. We hope our adventures will inspire you to create new ones of your own.

Meet Our Family

TerriAnn is the primary author of Cookies & Clogs. She shares her take on over 17 years of marriage, raising a 16-year-old daughter, homeschooling, being a first-time dog owner, and family travel experiences. Through personal stories, photos, and video, she shares her life to enrich yours. TerriAnn was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area with a brief stint of living in the Netherlands for four years.

Frans is the other half of Cookies & Clogs. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he has a broad and unique take on living in the U.S. and raising a family here. We’ve been married 16 years and are still best friends. He acts as my co-photographer, driver, travel buddy, and takes care of the backend / IT stuff for the blog. He also blogs at Verover Amerika, a Dutch travel site those visiting the U.S. from the Netherlands.

Munchkin is our one offspring. Navigating through her teen years, our daughter is riding the line between childhood and growing up. Her colorful personality cracks us up (in between driving us crazy). She doesn’t mind being the feature of most of my posts and often contributes thoughts and opinions that would only come from a teenager. Munchkin also has an amazing Instagram account but we keep it private for now.

Speckles has become our second daughter, just a bit fuzzier. Born from a stray dog in the shelter, she was the one pup out of eight that we really connected with. According to the foster family and rescue group, she is a Labrador-mix with Shepherd and Cattle Dog. All we know is that we love her and she’s such a character! We almost lost her to an injury but she’s healed and super happy now. She loves long walks by the beach… Nah, she just likes sleeping, begging for food, and is super accident-prone.

10 comments

SheriMay 31, 2010 - 2:45 pm

Welcome to blogging TerriAnn – You have a wonderful site here with so much helpful information.

Hi TerriAnn, How nice to find you here and what a beautiful site you have (sorry for my english, Iam the dutch sister in law ha, ha, ha). Its a pitty I cant use the things you put on your site but I like to read it. I want to follow your blogg, how can ik take an abonnement? Succes with it! Love and hugs from us in Holland.

I just wanted to say WOW! You’re a newbie?! I’m not that computer savvy, but I’m trying to learn while I build my blog. Your blog is very inspiring. I hope to one day have as many followers as you. I love your intro, and the reason for the title of your blog. 🙂
I to am starting 4th grade this year with my DD. Good luck in the upcoming year.

awww.. I love your “about” story.. great idea for a name.. and here i thought maybe you were a chocoholic who liked shoes.. 🙂 We love California.. and still have some relatives who live ouside of SF in Belmont, CA. hope to visit again!